Community News: Central

CHINATOWN : Substation Offers Tear Gas Course

To help local residents arm themselves safely, the Chinatown Public Safety Assn. offers monthly bilingual instruction in tear gas, a legal and non-lethal self-defense weapon.

The two-hour course, provided in Cantonese and English, is at the police substation at 823 N. Hill St. This month's class will be Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. The $45 fee includes state certification and a canister of tear gas. Free parking is offered at Castelar Elementary School.

Police officials say tear gas helps residents become "tougher targets" in a relatively safe manner. Tear gas can be used without a state license inside one's home; a license is necessary to carry and use tear gas outside the home.

Tear gas works quickly and, with a range of up to 10 feet, does not require as much physical prowess as other self-defense methods, such as the martial arts, police say.

"I have two young kids, and the oldest boy, who's almost 4, likes playing with toy guns," said Gilman Jung, executive director of the Chinatown Public Safety Assn. "I'd be real leery of keeping a gun in the house."